On December 18, authorities announced that they had found the man responsible for both the fatal shooting at Brown University and the death two days later of Nuno FG Loureiro, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a storage facility in Salem, Massachusetts.
Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, originally from Portugal, was a former physics PhD student at Brown University who met Loureiro, authorities said at two separate news conferences on the night of Dec. 18.
Investigators said they identified Valente on the afternoon of Dec. 17 and were able to link him to both crime scenes through financial information, including rental car records for the car he rented and drove to Providence and back to Massachusetts.
Brown’s shooting shook the Ivy League school and the community surrounding the school.
Authorities at the news conference in Boston said Valente was “sophisticated in covering his tracks,” including hiding his cell phone so it could not be tracked, changing the plates on his rental car and not using credit cards in his name.
An affidavit signed by a Rhode Island district judge said police solved the case after an informant recognized a rental car around the area. The tipster said police should be looking for a gray Nissan Altima and license plate, information that police had not previously released. Police then found footage of Neves Valente renting the car at an Alamo location in Boston.
Here’s what you need to know about the shooter:
A still image of Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, the alleged Brown University shooter at an Alamo car rental in Boston on Nov. 17, 2025.
When did Claudio Manuel Neves Valente enter the US?
Neves Valente entered the country in 2000 on an F-1 student visa. He was admitted as a legal permanent resident in 2017.
Brown officials say he was a doctoral student before taking a leave of absence in April 2001. He retired on July 31, 2003. His last known address was in Miami, according to police.
The tipster first took his information to the social networking site Reddit, posting: “I’m serious. The police need to look into a gray Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental,” wrote John, whose last name is being withheld by authorities, according to the affidavit.
When was the identification announced?
The announcement comes after authorities urged the public to help expand the investigation and the days-long search for the person suspected of carrying out the attack. Earlier in the week, authorities released enhanced images and video footage of the person investigators believe may be connected to the shooting that killed two people and injured nine others.
Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said investigators have evidence that the possible suspect was near the university hours before the shooting. Footage from neighborhood cameras shared by authorities showed the person dressed in dark clothing and wearing a mask walking the streets a few blocks away from the campus on December 13.
Investigators believe it was likely the person “caused” the scene, according to Perez.
“There are a lot of clues that we have here that show that the person who committed this tragedy is the guy in this video,” the police chief said.
Although officials said on Dec. 16 that they were confident the person in the video was the suspect, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha noted they had “zero” evidence for a motive for the attack. Witnesses said the person was possibly in his 30s, and it was unclear if he was affiliated with the university, Perez said.
“Bright light” and “role model”. Brown University victims remembered
Authorities have released a video timeline of the potential suspect’s movements
Police have received more than 200 tips since the shooting, according to Perez. The police chief asked for the public’s help in identifying the suspected gunman, saying investigators hope the new footage will help someone recognize the man.
“Focus on body movements, how the person moved their arms, body posture, how they’re carrying their weight,” Perez said. “I think those are important movement patterns that can help you identify this individual, which is extremely important.”
The footage included a video timeline that featured surveillance video from neighborhood cameras and a vehicle’s dash cam.
In one video, the suspected shooter can be seen leaving the scene of the shooting as a police car arrives with emergency lights flashing. The final video shows the suspect walking down that street just minutes after the attack.
Did the suspect target Brown University?
The shooting at the Ivy League university happened shortly before 4:05 p.m. local time on December 13 in an engineering building with the doors unlocked while final exams were underway. Authorities said the suspect opened fire with a 9 mm handgun inside a classroom and then fled.
The shooting prompted a campus lockdown that left students barricaded in rooms or hiding for hours. Officers recovered 9mm shell casings from the scene, and Perez said investigators believe the suspect “definitely targeted Brown University.”
Two students were killed and nine others were injured in the attack. The two students killed were identified as Ella Cook, a sophomore from Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a freshman from Virginia who immigrated from Uzbekistan.
As of December 16, two of the injured students have been released from the hospital. Of the seven people who remained hospitalized, authorities said one was in critical condition, five were in critical but stable condition and one was stable.
Brown University, which has nearly 11,000 students and alumni, is considered one of the most prestigious colleges in the country. Brown was founded in 1764 and is located in Providence, Rhode Island.
This is a developing story.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brown, MIT suspect, found dead. What to know about Claudio Manuel Neves Valente